The economic rise of China in the past three decades is probably the most momentous geopolitical event of our time. Within one generation, a previously impoverished, isolated and brutally repressed society of more than a billion people has transformed itself into the world's second-largest economy and trading power. Now that the improbable has happened, many are rushing to explain why.

James Fallows' “China Airborne” belongs to this category. Fallows, who spent three years in China (2006-09), has already published a much-acclaimed book, “Postcards From Tomorrow Square,” a collection of insightful essays on the complexities of contemporary Chinese economy and politics. What sets “China Airborne” apart from other books on China's rise is Fallows' remarkable ability to analyze both China's unprecedented achievements in economic modernization and its inherent limitations.

No other story illustrates the duality of Chinese power more aptly than that of China's civil aviation, a sector that, like the rest of the economy, was backward and disconnected from the West 30 years ago. Its aging fleet was mostly Soviet-made or crude copies. First-class seats, Fallows recounts, seemed to be overstuffed armchairs bolted to the floor, through which, incidentally, one could glimpse the landing gear. Few ordinary Chinese flew — they would need official approval before purchasing an airline ticket.

Today, things could hardly be more different. With more than 2,600 modern aircraft (mostly Boeings and Airbuses), China has the world's second-largest commercial fleet (about half of the United States'). Its airlines, among the most dangerous two decades ago, now rank among the safest and the most valuable in terms of stock market prices. Its gleaming new airports offer a more pleasant travel experience than many aging American airports.

The visible hand of the Chinese government certainly played a role in the explosive growth of the country's aviation industry. After all, Beijing has long identified this sector as a strategic industry and poured enormous investments into aviation infrastructure and purchases of modern jets. But the real story, as told in “China Airborne,” is something quite different. That China's civil aviation industry has caught up with the West so quickly owes much to help from the West, especially from the United States. Obviously, self-interest, not altruism, motivated American executives, engineers and aviation specialists to troop to China and persevere in their untiring efforts to persuade Chinese bureaucrats to adopt the world's best practices and technologies.

Pioneers like E.E. Bauer and Joe T, both Boeing executives dispatched to China before its aviation boom took off, assisted Chinese civil aviation authorities in developing strict maintenance schedules and pilot training programs. Its effort paid off eventually, as Beijing relaxed some restrictions.

The story so brilliantly told in “China Airborne,” a metaphor for the much bigger story of China's rise, suggests that no one should take its future as a superpower for granted.